WO2016183616A1

WO2016183616A1 - Animal rfid tag

Info

Publication number: WO2016183616A1
Application number: PCT/AU2016/000171
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Terry Forehan
Original assignee: Stock Brands Co. Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2015-05-21
Filing date: 2016-05-18
Publication date: 2016-11-24

Abstract

A tag for attachment to an ear of an animal. The tag comprises a male part having an elongated shaft and a flange provided at or near a first end of the shaft, and a separate female part having a disc with an opening therein for engageably receiving an opposed second end of the shaft. The flange and the disc are each flexible such that they may be readily pulled free from objects that they become entangled with without causing the tag to be detached from the animal's ear.

Description

TITLE

ANIMAL RF1D TAG FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an animal RFID tag.

[0002] More particularly, the present invention relates to an animal RFID tag to assist in animal identification wherein the tag encloses radio frequency identification means and is preferably attachable to an ear of the animal.

BACKGROUND TO INVENTION

[0003] The use of ear tags as identifiers for animals is common practice around the worl d, particularly in the management of herd animals and livestock.

[0004] It is known to use ear tags equipped with radio frequency identification ("RFID") devices to allow for easier information capture regarding a herd or a single animal. The RFID tags deployed usually incorporate a duplexing transmitter that is capable of receiving and transmitting information simultaneously and a means of storing information. In this manner the information contained within the tag can be updated to incorporate further information regarding the individual animal. Such information may include information on the feed being allocated to an animal or the amount of medical or preventative treatment that has been administered to the animal.

[0005] An example of one known tag design is a button-style tag. This comprises a male part (also referred to as a pin) having a flange and a separate female part (also referred to as a button) having a disc member. The pin is passed through an animal's ear and is irreversibly assembled by interlocking to the button for attaching the tag to the ear. The flange and disc member each straddle respective opposite sides of the animal's ear and have a significant surface area. This prevents the tag from being removed and ensures that it may be worn by the animal in comfort.

[0006] The disc members used in prior art button-style tags are rigid and made from a hard material, such as hard plastic. This makes these components vulnerable to becoming entangled with, or caught by, wire fencing and bushes, for example, as the animal browses.

[0007] The present invention attempts to overcome, at least in part, the disadvantages of previous tags.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0008] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a tag for attachment to an ear of an animal, comprising:

a male part having an elongated shaft and a flange provided at or near a first end of the shaft; and

a separate female part having a disc with an opening therein for engageably receiving an opposed second end of the shaft,

whereby the flange and the disc are each flexible such that they may be readily pulled free from objects that they become entangled with without causing the tag to be detached from the animal's ear.

[0009] The shaft may house RFID components.

[0010] The shaft may have a head at the second end and the shaft tapers, for at least a part of its length, towards an end point of the head.

[001 1 ] The male part may have a boss protruding from the flange on its side opposed to the shaft, wherein the boss has a central bore. [0012] The tag, when the male part and female part are assembled, may be symmetrical around both a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis centrally through the tag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0013] The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0014] Figure 1 is a bottom perspective view of an animal RFID tag according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0015] Figure 2 is an exploded bottom perspective view of the animal RFID tag shown in Figure 1 ;

[0016] Figure 3(a) is a sectional side view of the animal RFID tag of Figure 1 seen along arrows III-III, wherein the tag is shown in a partially manufactured state whereby a bore of the tag has not been over moulded and a flange of the tag has not been formed;

[0017] Figure 3(b) is a further sectional side view of the animal RFID of Figure 1 seen along arrows III-III, wherein the tag is shown in a further partially manufactured state whereby the bore of the tag has been partially over moulded and the flange is fully formed;

[0018] Figure 4 is a sectional side view of the animal RFID tag of Figure 2 seen along arrows IV-IV, wherein the bore and flange of the tag are fully formed;

[0019] Figure 5 is a top perspective view of a male part of the animal RFID tag of Figures 1 to 4;

[0020] Figure 6 is a side view of the male part shown in Figure 5;

[0021 ] Figure 7 is a top perspective view of a female part of the animal RFID tag of Figures 1 to 4;

[0022] Figure 8 is a side view of the female part shown in Figure [0023] Figure 9 is a sectional side view of an animal RFID tag according to a further embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Referring to the drawings, there is shown in Figures 1 to 4 an animal RFID tag in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, being generally indicated by reference numeral 10.

[0025] The tag 10 is adapted to be attached to an animal, for example to its ear, for tracking and identification of the animal. The tag 10 comprises a male part 12 and a female part 14 which are initially provided as separate parts but are subsequently joined together to attach the tag 10 to the animal.

[0026] The male part 12 comprises an elongated cylindrical shaft 16 having opposed ends 18 and 20. The shaft 16 is rigid and, preferably, made of a hard plastic or polycarbonate-based material. A conical head 22 is provided at the end 18, the head 22 having a terminal point 24.

[0027] The head 22 has a shoulder 26 that projects radially beyond the end 18 of the shaft 16, whereby the shoulder 26 is formed by the base of the head 22 having a larger diameter than that of the end 18.

[0028] In one embodiment the shaft 16 can have a constant diameter throughout such that the shoulder 26 extends radially beyond the shaft 16, but in another embodiment the shaft 16 can taper towards the end 18 from shortly before the end 18 such that the shoulder 26 has a diameter substantially similar to that of the shaft 16 but larger than the end 18.

[0029] The shaft 16 has a radially extending flange 28 at its end 20, from which a central boss 30 protrudes on its side being opposed to the shaft 16. The boss 30 has a bore 32 being adapted to receive an RFID component. [0030] Preferably the flange 28 is in a circular form and is formed integrally with the boss 30. Alternatively, as illustrated in Figure 9, the flange 28 is formed separately to the boss 30 and is connected thereto using a connection means such as, for example, an adhesive or by applying additional moulded plastic to seal the flange 28 is to the boss 30.

[0031 ] In an alternative embodiment, the boss 30 can form part of the shaft 16 with the flange 28 being provided at the free end of the boss 30.

[0032] RFID components 34 are housed within the shaft 16 between the conical head 22 and the bore 32. The RFID components 34 perform the same functions as demonstrated in the prior art examples. Conventionally, the RFID components can include a transponder of known type comprising a coil antenna and a programmable microprocessor.

[0033] The male part 12 has a longitudinal axis 36 axially aligned with the shaft 16, and wherein the point 24, bore 32 and RFID components 34 are all preferably aligned along the axis 36.

[0034] The female part 14 comprises a disc 38, preferably in a circular form, having a central transverse passage 40 extending through the disc 38. The passage 40 is surrounded by a cylindrical sleeve 42 protruding from one side of the disc 38.

[0035] The sleeve 42 has a circular ridge 44 protruding from an internal surface of the sleeve 42. The ridge 44 and the head 22 are rigid but are sufficiently elastically deformable such that, in use, as the head 22 is inserted into the passage 40, the shoulder 26 may overcome the ridge 44 and travel past the ridge 44 through the passage 40 (see Figures 3(a) and 3(b)). [0036] Once fully inserted, withdrawal of the head 22 is prevented by the shoulder 26 abuting the ridge 44, thus joining the male part 12 and the female part 14 together.

[0037] The shape of the assembled tag 10 is symmetrical around the longitudinal axis 36. Similarly, due to the incorporation of the RFID components 34 within the shaft 16 and having similarly shaped opposed ends to the tag 10, i.e. the flange 28 with its outwardly protruding boss 30 and the disc 38 with its outwardly protruding sleeve 42, the assembled tag 10 is also substantially symmetrical about a transverse axis 46 centrally through the tag 10. The dual symmetry and the incorporation of the RFID components 34 centrally within the shaft 16 result in the tag 10 having an even weight distribution with its centre of gravity lying substantially centrally to the shaft 16.

[0038] Both the male part 12 and the female part 14 are made from a flexible plastics material, such as a polyurethane or the like. The flange 28 and disc 38 have a sufficient longitudinal thickness so that they have structural rigidity but still remain flexible.

[0039] During manufacture, as shown in Figure 3(a) the bore 32 initially extends from the boss 30 into the shaft 16 allowing the RFID components 34 to be inserted. Thereafter, as shown in Figure 3(b) the male part 12 is over-moulded, including the bore 32 within the boss 30, to enclose and seal the RFID components 34 within the shaft 16.

[0040] The over-moulding process may be carried out by, for example, injecting over-mould material 47 into one more apertures (not shown) in a wall of the shaft 16 to in-fill the male part 12. Alternatively, the over-moulding process may be carried out by injecting over-mould material 47 directly into the bore 32.

[0041] The over-mould material 47 that is used during this over-moulding process may additionally be used to create the flange 28, so that the flange 28 is formed integrally with the boss 30. For example, when the over-mould material 47 is injected into the bore 32 to seal the RFID components 34, the manufacturing process may provide that some material 47 also simultaneously flows out of the boss 30 through one or more small apertures (not shown) in the side of the boss 30 and into a shaped outer mould to form the flange 28.

[0042] Due to the radial thickness of the shaft 16 and the boss 30, they are more rigid than the flange 28. Also, the rigidity of the shaft 16 can optionally be improved by over-moulding the shaft 16 with a different material when securing the RFID components 34 in position.

[0043] Thus in use, the flange 28 and disc 38 are sufficiently rigid to restrain the tag 10 attached to an animal's ear, but both the flange 28 and disc 38 are sufficiently flexible to allow deformation of either if the tag 10 becomes entangled in a bush or fencing wire. Thus the animal can pull the tag 10 free from the entanglement without the tag 10 being pulled out of the animal's ear.

[0044] In use, the male part 12 and female part 14 are respectively placed on opposite sides of the animal's ear and forcing the point 24 through the animal's ear so that it penetrates into the passage 40. Once the shoulder 26 has penetrated through the ridge 44, the head 22 is substantially restrained such that the male part 12 can only be removed from the female part 14 through deformation of either.

[0045] Modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A tag for attachment to an ear of an animal comprising:

2. The tag according to claim 1, wherein the flange and disc each have a circular form.

3. The tag according to claim 2, wherein the flange is integrally formed with the tag.

4. The tag according to claim 2, wherein the flange is formed separately to the tag and is connected to the tag using a connection means.

5. The tag according to any preceding claim, wherein the shaft houses a radio frequency identification (RF1D) component.

6. The tag according to any preceding claim, wherein the male part has a boss protruding from the flange on its side opposed to the shaft, wherein the boss has a central core for receiving the RFID component.

7. The tag according to claim 6, wherein an over mould material is disposed in the central core of the boss for sealing the RFID component in the shaft.

8. The tag according to any preceding claim, wherein the shaft has a head at the second end of the shaft, and the shaft tapers, for at least part of its length, towards an end point of the head.

9. The tag according to claim 8, wherein the head comprises a shoulder that projects radially beyond the second end of the shaft, wherein the shoulder is formed by a base of the head that has a larger diameter than that of the second end of the shaft.

10. The tag according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the disc has a central transverse passage extending through the disc, the passage being surrounded by a cylindrical sleeve protruding from one side of the disc, the sleeve having a circul ar ridge protruding from an internal surface of the sleeve, the ridge and head each being elastically deformable such that, in use, as the head is inserted into the passage, the shoulder overcomes the ridge and travels past the ridge through the passage to connect the male and female parts together.

1 1. The tag according to any preceding claim, wherein when the male and female parts are assembled, the parts are symmetrical around both a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis centrally through the tag.

12. The tag according to any preceding claim, wherein the flange and the disc are each made of a polyurethane material.

13. The tag according to any preceding claim, wherein the shaft is made of a polycarbonate material.

14. A process for manufacturing a tag, the tag being in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein when the process is carried out:

an over mould material is injected into a borehole in the boss of the tag to seal the RFID component in the shaft of the tag, and

the over mould material simultaneously flows out of one or more apertures in a side of the boss into an outer mould, thereby forming the flange of the tag integrally with the tag.